There are artists who work with time as if it were clay, and Gemma Alpuente is one of them: her work captures that moment in which matter changes state and is, literally, suspended. From a practice that straddles painting and installation, her research with resins, pigments, and unconventional supports freezes a real motion that no longer advances or retreats.
In parallel to Alpuente's artistic universe, Spain's historical heritage continues to pulsate with news of restorations, discoveries, and reopenings: castles, Romanesque churches, Gothic monasteries and routes are once again on their feet. This text explores both worlds: Gemma's contemporary alchemy and a broad panorama of the medieval legacy that is being curated, researched, and shared.
Gemma Alpuente: biography, drive, and risk
Born in Algemesí (Valencia) in 1993Gemma Alpuente trained in Fine Arts and Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Assets at the Polytechnic University of Valencia, and completed a master's degree in education with a specialization in art at the University of Valencia. This dual approach, technical and sensitive, gives her the tools to stretch the materiality of painting to its limits. without sacrificing precision of processes and finishes.
Her professional determination was strengthened in 2020, when she registered as a freelancer and took on the challenge of full-time work: from trial and error to conscious choice. He had already exhibited before, but his purpose became clearer and he held solo exhibitions at ESART (Algemesí), the Shiras and Cuatro galleries (Valencia), the Caleidoscopio Centre (Móstoles), the Puçol Cultural Centre, the University of Murcia, the Sala de Carcaixent and the Centre d'Art Contemporani Taller d'Ivars in Benissa (Alicante), where he presented his projects until recently.
Among the milestones, he obtained the University of Murcia painting prize (2022) and participated in ART MADRID with Canal Gallery. In Valencia, his solo exhibition at Galería Cuatro, part of Abierto Valencia 2023, was awarded the Alhambra Award for the best exhibition, a recognition of its commitment to turning the rooms into live experiences for all types of audiences.
The frozen moment: resins, expansion and color chemistry
Gemma investigates the transition between states: the fluid that expands, the stain that seems to spill and, suddenly, is solidified. Work with resins of different nature, microcement, methacrylate, 3D printing, or neon, materials that enhance a gesture that becomes volume, edge, relief, and shine. The process is the piece: the exothermic reaction accelerates the particles and generates an expansion that the artist guides, predicts but does not fully control.
That movement is cut short when the chemical finishes its course: "the stains that would come off, don't; the liquid, instead of evaporating, stays." By mixing pigments with additives and resins, the paint triples its size, changes its consistency and even its aesthetics, as occurs in the 3D paintings by Riusuke Fukahori. It is not an illusion of movement, but a true capture of an ongoing transformation, almost like a sequence of frames stopped at an exact point.
The work does not pretend to advance: presents a real state of a matter that was changing and was fixed in time.
Color is language and energy in her work: subtle gradients that slip, material masses that claim space, glazes versus thicknesses. The artist “elevates” the painting, detaches it from the support, places it in the air through the mixtures with resins that turn her into something else. This play between intuition and calculation, emotion and light engineering, runs through her method from the beginning, which she lives as an active meditation.
There's an underlying challenge: stretching the laws that govern what we see. If matter could be governed by other rules, we might be looking at "alternate universes." The result is both poetic and physical, and leaves an echo: the feeling that time can be folded on the surface of a work.
Generous formats, references and exhibitions
In large format, your body becomes a tool on a scale: the work surrounds her and allows for broad, free, less cerebral gestures. At smaller sizes, it recognizes that its rational part comes in first, and what happens is another experience. Aesthetically, it recognizes itself as close to post-painterly abstraction, expressionism, dadaism, and constructivism, with echoes of Lynda Benglis, Jackson Pollock and Helen Frankenthaler, among others.
In addition to her outstanding exhibition at Galería Cuatro, Gemma has been part of key collective exhibitions: Art Madrid with Canal Gallery, and “After the DANA. Poetics of Resilience” at Chirivella Soriano Foundation, together with Juan Olivares, Rubén Tortosa, Regina Quesada and Hugo Martínez-Tormo under the curatorship of Rafael Tejedor.
Institutionally, he presented a solo performance in the Center d'Art Contemporani Taller d'Ivars de Benissa, a two-story space, a renovated former furniture workshop; and participates in “The DANA footprint in artistic practice” at the Center del Carme, in Valencia, with the intention of remaining until 2026. At the university level, it is included in the itinerant “Danada, designing adaptation, experiences for a resilient future” (UPV, GLOCAL 2025 Programme, Mainel Foundation and The Human-Tech Nexus Erasmus+).
To follow their agenda, you can visit their website: gemalpu.com, where he documents processes and parts with great transparency.
DANA, loss and reconstruction: the studio as a living space
On October 29, the overflow of the Magro River in Algemesí caught Gemma working, oblivious to the magnitude of what was happening outside. Accepting that a large part of her work could be under the mud was a shock. The next day, when she finally entered the premises, the difficult material duel and urgent decision-making.
Accustomed to recording her daily life on video, she uploaded a first montage for count without filters the reality of someone who lives for and by art. He needed to focus: "I prefer not to scroll" for a while and focus on moving forward. Reconstruction comes in phases: accepting the destruction of the space, empty and clean the mud Using pressurized water, salvage what was salvageable, bid farewell to what was lost, and disinfect every corner. Weeks later, the feeling of repetition persisted, with the frustration of seeing the process drag on.
The wave of support was enormous: charity auctions and raffles driven by Josune García (@inthemoodforjos.art), Luz Linares (@luzllinaresarte), Fidelitas Arte (@fidelitasarte), and the 'Labienhecha' project (@soylabienhecha), among other helping hands, and a media impact that highlighted the impact of the DANA on the cultural fabric. A direct way to help, she recalls, is to acquire the surviving works: will leave the studio safely and will bear witness to what they experienced.
A living panorama of Romanesque, Gothic and heritage: restorations, discoveries and openings
While contemporary creation is in full swing, medieval heritage is being cared for and activated. Below, a comprehensive—and necessary—review of the initiatives that are restoring its vitality. castles, churches and museums of our geography.
Castles, walls and fortifications
- Villalba Castle (Cebolla, Toledo): It has been included in the Hispania Nostra Red List due to its deterioration. It suffered from brick plundering at the corners of its towers, erosion at its bases, and a crack in the southwest tower. It has a rectangular floor plan, with paneled towers and a semicircular doorway. Its history spans Romans, Muslims, Templars, and Castilian nobility, leading to the present-day Counts of Deleytosa.
- Medieval wall of Oviedo: : the restoration of the section of Paraíso Street has been unblocked. The works (€726.000) cover 300 meters of fortification and up to 8 meters in height: weed pruning, petrological study, photogrammetry, removal of added elements and stone consolidation, with special care to do not alter the original elevation.
- Castle of San Esteban de Gormaz (Soria): first phase within the 1,5% Cultural (€400.000) for consolidation and enhancement. Intervention on 72 m of the northwest wall, with topographic survey, photogrammetric, ground-penetrating, repair of the rocky substrate and walls, and improvement of access and signage.
- La Mota Fortress (Alcalá la Real, Jaén): reopens in summer hours, with free days for registered residents, guided itinerary, QR codes and controlled capacity. Tourism recovery plans are also being activated with "authentic" experiences.
- King's Castle (San Vicente de la Barquera, Cantabria): Works to address dampness in the exhibition hall and interventions on the rock face with wire mesh. A 54-meter-long fortress with walls up to 2,5 meters high, a pentagonal keep, and walls. that connected with the medieval village.
- Berrueco Castle (Torredelcampo, Jaén): Its consolidation is underway, with completion scheduled for July. The City Council has activated emergency works without expropriation, and the investment will be passed on to the owners. 12th-century Islamic fortress and Asset of Cultural Interest.
- Arab wall of Valencia (El Carmen): Call for tenders for the restoration of the best-preserved section of the Plaza del Àngel, with an interpretation centre and a garden reminiscent of the exterior of the medina; budget of 3,4 million euros. clear vocation for urban regeneration.
Churches, monasteries and altarpieces
- Saint Mary the Royal of La Hiniesta (Zamora): Opening to tourism to coincide with the 75th anniversary of its declaration as a Cultural Heritage Site. Gothic temple with construction phases between 1290 and 1347; summer schedules and scheduled visits.
- San Xillao de Lobios (Sober, Lugo): restoration of mural paintings for almost €70.000, with dismantling of the altarpiece to access the whole, cleaning, treatments against biodeterioration, consolidation and chromatic reintegration.
- Saint Martin of Rejas of San Esteban (Soria): works to address damp (€36.225,86). Drainage, wall restoration, replacement of mortar with lime, epoxy resin injections in ashlars and lead sheet to insulate the baptismal font.
- Jaramillo de la Fuente (Burgos): : roof replacement project to stop leaks in the Romanesque church of the Assumption, a BIC since 1991, with 50% ERDF financing.
- Episcopal Palace of Diomondi (O Saviñao, Lugo): rehabilitation with continuous archaeological monitoring to convert it into a shelter for the Winter Way, with the possibility of excavations if relevant remains are detected.
- Fitero (Navarra): The five-apse head of the parish church, a Romanesque jewel of “asymmetrical symmetry”, displays its monumentality; a unique image in the local square.
- Roda de Isábena (Huesca): maintenance and prevention work for the reopening of its cathedral; special attention to the Romanesque carving of the Virgin of Estet, and loan of pieces to the Lux Romanica exhibition in Graus.
- San Vicente de Pombeiro (Pantón, Lugo): The Xunta is putting out to tender €270.000 for works to reduce dampness, replace the roof, and renew carpentry and grouting. Basilica of three naves and triple head, with an 18th century main altarpiece and murals (Holy Supper, Lamentations, Last Judgement) previously restored.
- Saint Peter of Caracena (Soria): Restoration of the porticoed gallery for €46.949, with repair of the roof and fixing of shafts that have gaps; Romanesque portico of nine arches (two lost) attached to a 12th century temple.
- Mills (Teruel)The Gothic church of Our Lady of the Snows is suffering from serious leaks; the parish priest is demanding emergency intervention, and the Aragon Government's diagnosis is Half a million comprehensive repair, with the property being responsible for maintenance.
- Valdediós (Asturias): On the verge of the departure of the Samaritan Carmelites (July 16), the Archbishopric is looking for a new congregation for the monastery. Reopening to visits with controlled capacity, while coexistence San Salvador (9th century) and Santa Maria (XIII).
Museums, exhibitions and routes
- Diocesan Museum of Jaca: reopens with a single route, capacity per room, mandatory mask and QR codesIt houses one of the finest collections of Romanesque mural paintings in the world and offers guided tours of the museum and cathedral with reservations.
- National Heritage: Reopening of the Monastery of Las Huelgas (Burgos) and the Royal Monastery of Santa Clara (Tordesillas) with adapted hours, online tickets and free days scheduled.
- Lux Romanica (Pyrenees Area, Graus): an exhibition that combines historical, heritage and identity discourse, with pieces such as the mitre of Saint Raymond, San Juan de Roda, Virgen del Puy de Sos, paintings of San Antón, corbels, chrismon, pyx, and lanceograph collections. Open until the end of September.
- Ribeira Sacra: Guided tours are back, with night visits to petroglyphs In Sober, as a new feature, limited capacity and advance reservations are available; tours through Sober, Pantón, O Saviñao, Chantada, and Carballedo are available, complying with health measures.
- Monegros Mudejar: unofficial but recommended route through the churches of Poleñino, Torralba de Aragón, Alcubierre, Leciñena and Perdiguera, with towers solid and powerful, caves under the temples, Rosario de Cristal in Perdiguera and ascent to San Caprasio as the roof of the mountain range.
Findings, chronicles and curiosities
- Gothic Virgin in the Sar (Santiago): An amateur fisherman locates a seated carving with a Child and angels, probably from the 14th century and the so-called Galician Gothic, carved in granite and designed for walls. It will be moved to the Museo das Peregrinaciones for study.
- Erik the Belgian (René Alphonse van den Berghe): dies in Malaga at the age of 80. Famous art thief, he turned himself in in 1982, collaborated in the recovery of 1.500 works and was released in 1985 due to the statute of limitations; he captured his life in “For the Love of Art.”
- Palencia and its “aliens”: On the Kings' cover, two extraterrestrial figures sculpted in 1995 during the restoration, an idea of the architect Fernando Díaz-Pinés to culturally date the intervention; they are 20 meters away, discreet, and today are a famous anecdote of the “beautiful stranger.”
- San Juan del Hospital (Valencia): the “corona of light” phenomenon: the upper arch projects eight circles that move around the nave depending on the season. A nod to how Romanesque and Gothic they worked on solar lighting.
- Loarre, medieval set: The castle returns to the cinema with “The Knights of Santiago”, a docu-fiction by Ana Martín that covers 800 years of the order's history, with sanitary measures filming and stops in Aljafería, Madrid, Asturias and Cuenca.
Master plans and urban projects
- Alcalá de Guadaíra (Seville): The Heritage Commission endorses the Almena Plan II until 2030, which articulates research, rehabilitation, and use of the fortified enclosure. Interventions on the Torre Mocha, the Santa María esplanade, the Alcaide's House, walls, and access points, with unified material criteria.
- Cabanyal (Valencia): : tender for the Civic Centre (2,4 million, FEDER co-financing) in warehouses that will evoke barracks, with the aim of social and cultural regeneration and integration of the Roma and immigrant population, and rooms for theatre and exhibitions.
- Cáseda (Navarra): rehabilitation of medieval dwellings attached to the Hermitage of San Zoilo and creation of a multipurpose cultural hall; the complex has been a BIC (Best Cultural Interest) since 2001. welcomed pilgrims between the 16th and 18th centuries. The chapel door was restored thanks to local contributions (MECNA).
Iconography and medieval calendars
Guadalajara preserves two complete Romanesque calendars, a rarity in Spain. henbane de sorbe, one of the arches of the cover shows the months with agricultural scenes and daily life, from the slaughter of the pig to the Christmas dinner, with an angel at the beginning and a black head at the end as symbolic marks. In Campisábalos, the frieze is arranged horizontally and, oddly enough, is read from right to left, perhaps by Mudejar hands; in addition to agricultural work, it includes hunting and jousting.
Heritage, like Gemma's work, speaks of time: cycles, seasons, works and rituals. In both cases, there is a permanence drive against what changes, whether in stone or expanded resin.
This journey through contemporary art and medieval vestiges makes it clear that matter keeps memory: A still stain can count as much as an apse or a wall rescued from oblivion, and the care – in the workshop or on site – turns each piece into a place to return to.